Man victim of alleged blackmailing scheme

NORWALK — A 42-year-old Lorain man was the apparent victim of an alleged blackmailing scheme that resulted in the indictment of a man by the Huron County grand jury on a felony extortion charge.
The grand jury indicted the Jeremiah Weitzel, 28, on Sept. 20.
Weitzel can face up to three years in prison if found guilty.
The Lorain man reported the blackmail threats to the Huron County Sheriff’s Office on May 28, according to Huron County Sheriff’s Detective Kayla Zander.
Weitzel had threatened to reveal some personal matters about the Lorain man unless he paid Weitzel $2,500 Zander said.
“We were able to arrest Weitzel on May 29,” Zander said. “He made some admissions to the crime while we were interviewing him.
The alleged victim and Weitzel worked together at a Norwalk restaurant.